Explains how to access the Internet, discussing hardware and software considerations, connectivity, and types of access available to users. Describes the uses of electronic mail; TELNET, a method for remotely logging onto another computer; and anonymous File Transfer Protocol (FTP), a method for downloading files from a remote computer. (MAB)

At the Arkansas School for the Deaf, high school students use electronic mail to correspond with friends in other places, including those met on electronic bulletin boards. Uses of electronic mail are addressed in the context of whole-language instruction. Specific networks appropriate for children, including KendallNet (linking schools for the…

Quality evaluation refers to computer operations for categorizing the relative quality of creative work. It can be used in college instruction to involve students and instructors in contrastive perception and distributed judgment of student work, assigning a quantitative measure to group conclusions about the relative quality of a member's work.…

Faculty at 11 higher education institutions in California, New Mexico, Texas, and northern Mexico have been experimenting with computer conferencing on the BESTNET (Bilingual English-Spanish Telecommunications Network). The growing system is credited with creating an international student-faculty community that crosses cultural barriers for…

Discusses factors to consider when estimating the number of public access terminals (PACs) or workstations needed in public and academic libraries for online catalogs, including building size and layout, physical facilities, resources available through the system, peripheral equipment, graphical user interfaces, remote users, system capacity, and…

Discusses the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in education and summarizes three studies that demonstrated the positive effect of electronic networking on elementary and secondary students' reading and writing skills and their interest in meaningful educational activities. Highlights include knowledge construction; collaborative…

Increasingly, colleges are debating whether or not to require students to own computers. Issues include whether computers are the best use of student resources, how to pay for the cost of both computers and campus networks, faculty perceptions of the need for computers, and computer access versus computer ownership. (MSE)

Discusses funding sources for library automation; some sources also fund reading programs or other educational activities. Resources highlighted include journals, newsletters, state departments of education, professional organizations, foundation centers, corporations, and the Internet. (AEF)

World Wide Web browsers are compared by speed, setup, hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) handling, management of file transfer protocol (FTP), telnet, gopher, and wide area information server (WAIS); bookmark options; and communication functions. Netscape has the most features, the fastest retrieval, sophisticated bookmark capabilities. (JMV)

Describes TeacherNet, a program designed to integrate technology use during student teaching at California State University, Long Beach. A study of TeacherNet's usefulness found that the program increased student reflectivity, rapport with supervisors, team support, self-esteem, knowledge and use of information access and retrieval, and use of…

Gathered data on arcade use in adolescents (n=460). "Regular" arcade visitors varied sufficiently from the more "casual" visitors in their orientation to, and experience in, arcades. Regular visitors were more likely to score positively on indices screening for addiction. Raises questions about children's access to potentially…

In Osceola County, Florida, the Disney company is planning a public school and teacher-training center as part of a residential community called "Celebration." Joined by Stetson University and the Osceola County school system, the school aims to bring together in one location research-proven instructional methods. (MLF)

Examines influences on the use of electronic information resources, including the Internet. Highlights include information quality and accessibility; the Technology Assessment Model; the Fitness for Purpose model; the Theory of Planned Behavior; and a study in Australia that compared the ability of these models to explain electronic information…

Presents issues from a debate about interlibrary loan (ILL) policies and the use of union lists on the OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) ILL subsystem. Highlights include library funding, costs of maintaining serials holdings on a utility, borrowing procedures, quality service, workload leveling, staffing, and problems with OCLC system…

Considers ways to plan for Internet access based on experiences at Conestoga High School (Pennsylvania). Topics include dial up, mediated access versus direct connection; fees; Internet services, including e-mail accounts; support services; Internet use policy; and integrating Internet use into the curriculum. (LRW)